My name is Refe and I have learned Koine Greek independently using Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek. I am now trying to branch off into other dialects and periods of Ancient Greek and hope to use Textkit and these forums to help accomplish that goal!

Hello, I studied Latin far longer than my abilities would suggest if I were quizzed, though I like knowing enough of the language to read Virgil —read is a generous, perhaps it's better to say decipher. I now, and for a long time, have had a desire to learn Greek. The primary reason for this is so that I might be able to better understand modern as well as ancient philosopher's in their citations and original language. I am sure this is a lofty goal, but I have to begin at some point. I surmise that one must be quite good at a language to be able to spot abnormalities in translation or nuances in the language, yet, again, I still would like to try to achieve this goal. Currently I am reading Heidegger, who, I think, is so loose with his notion of Greek translation that I need to have my own grounding in the language so as not to be led too far off by his conception —after all, the edition of his book I study from has the editor pointing out the "conventional" translation when Heidegger's are so off the norm... and this is for nearly every passage. Sorry for the length, but I want to learn and I figure that a good introduction might aid in connecting in with people who may have advice to help me better reach my goals. Thanks for reading this and I look forward to using the site.David

Hi, my name is Carol, and I have been researching my family's Greek genealogy for about three years now. I am hoping that by using this forum and the help of its members, I can finally locate information about my Grandfather, whom we know as John Zarbs, from Crete, Greece. Please see my post under "Learning Greek" for more information.

I've just become interested in learning Koine Greek, mainly for biblical studies-although being able to speek Greek conversationally is my ultimate goal. I have been looking for some solid resources and my searching brought me here. Thank you for making such a resource available on the internet.

My name is Mike and I've been slowly built up studying latin since X-mas when I got an e-reader. On a semi-whim I downloaded D'Ooge's book to play around with the reader and got sucked in almost right away. I've studied ancient history as a hobby for as long as I can remember. I've always felt at a loss for not having even the slightest understanding of some of the ancient writings or languages. My understanding is that language can show a framework or attitudes of any culture.

I am an engineer by education and I think my initial intro to the grammar almost had a logical quality that also attracted me.

I'm finishing up the 2nd declension in D'Ooge and am past accepting gender and rolling R's as a fact of Latin! Both concerns coming from my limited years of French in high school!

Thanks for listening and I hope to be a least semi-active around here!

I teach Classics at Calvin College. I'm looking for something very specific and hope someone can help. A while ago a user named KramerKram posted part of a Greek version of the Westminster Shorter Catechism by Posselius. I'm looking for that or to contact him/her to help find it. Thanks.

A couple of years ago I became fascinated with Ancient Rome and because of that I've decided - in middle age - to learn Latin with the goal of being able to read the writings of Cicero, Julius Caesar etc.

Ages ago I took French in high school and German in college - neither of which I remember much of - and I have some facility with written Japanese, though the pages in my dictionary get turned alot more than the pages of whatever book I'm reading.

Looking forward to the challenge of learning the language and reading the works of some of the greatest Romans without being filtered through a translator.

I had a semester of Koine Greek way way way (way) back in the early 90s at Houghton College. I dropped second semester.

Before that, I had a cat named Koinonia - named after a Christian Bookstore, the owner of which found me walking home with a bunch of abandoned kittens I had found, so the one I kept was named after the store, I thought it a fitting username for this forum.

So why am I here? I'm still interested in Greek, despite not having been in a class in a very long time. Herpetology is my hobby, and a lot of scientific names are somewhat odd transliterations from Greek, attempting to understand them is one reason for my interest.

I also still have my Greek New Testament from way back when, and yes, I would like to learn to read some of it. I currently live near Simpson University and I understand they allow community members to take a class a semester, though I suspect students get priority if enrollment fills it up.

But anyway, that's why I'm here. I do have a specific question but per the rules, this intro comes first.

Hi there, I'm a beginning latin student, and because of my knowledge of french have ended up in the 'advanced' beginners group... My university uses Wheelock, and in an attempt to avoid seeming like an idiot, I'm joining the board in the hope that someone has a few hours this week to help me through some of the loci antiqui! I seem to have amental block with the different types of clauses!

I had three years of Latin in high school and studied Greek using Chase/Phillips in junior college in preparation for the Lutheran ministry in the mid to late '60s. Our professor supplied that koine variations as there were (apparently) no suitable Koine grammars at the time. It was in perusing a copy of my dad's Greek Grammar for Colleges (Smyth) at the same time that I was learning Vietnamese that I first learned that Greek was a tonal language.

I never got a call to the ministry and instead spent some 32 years with refugees and (political) asylees. I took early retirement and now have a goal to read the Iliad in Greek, to which end I am going through Clyde Pharr's Homeric Greek book.

I also plan to re-familiarize myself with Greek culture, the importance of which to our own - for good and for ill - cannot be overestimated.

I've always wanted to learn Ancient Greek since I was a small child, when I read all I could get my hands on of Greek mythology. I'd like to start with Homeric Greek -- I have Pharr's book; from what I hear it's supposed to be a good one. Are there other Homeric Greek learning materials that you would recommend?

I have a question, though. I'm not sure where I've gotten this impression, but I've heard that it's easier to learn Ancient Greek if you have learned some Latin first (which has also been something I'd love to do), because with Latin you learn very precise grammatical terms and how to categorize the parts of a sentence accordingly. I have Wheelock's book and accompanying materials, and could start out with Latin if that is the best entry into ancient languages.

etm42 wrote:I've heard that it's easier to learn Ancient Greek if you have learned some Latin first (which has also been something I'd love to do), because with Latin you learn very precise grammatical terms and how to categorize the parts of a sentence accordingly.

I wouldn't necessarily put it that way. You do hear this opinion occasionally, which I think is based on a couple of things: Many Greek textbooks (particularly older ones) assume a knowledge of Latin & therefore may explain things in reference to Latin, or not explain things which someone who has studied Latin would already know. Another reason is that Greek grammar is fairly complex & the number of forms you have to master can be a bit overwhelming. Latin is simpler in some ways (waaay fewer verb forms for one thing), so I think some people consider it an easier introduction to learning an inflected language. Another reason is that students today often don't have a very good grounding in English grammar, which helps when learning a language like Latin or Greek. And again, Latin textbooks sometimes provide more thorough explanations than Greek textbooks.

I don't find any of these things overwhelming arguments for learning Latin before Greek. More important is motivation -- which language do you most want to learn? I think that makes the most difference.

BTW it is true that Latin and Greek have a fair number of similarities, and that knowing Latin can help with learning Greek. But the opposite is true as well: if you know Greek Latin will be easier. I don't recommend learning Latin merely as a means to learning Greek. The reasoning there is backwards. The best way to learn Greek is to study the language.

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply. I especially appreciate the similarities (and differences) you note about the two languages. I will be keeping them in mind as I consider which I would prefer to study first. Thanks again!

Salvēte and χαίρετε! I am a retired college instructor of English, ESL/EFL and French and am now renewing my interest in non-Modern Greek and Latin of all periods. My B.A. and M.A. are in linguistics. I studied classical Latin for three semesters at U.C., Berkeley and one semester at Catholic University of America. I studied about a year of classical Greek by correspondence, using the Crosby and Schaeffer An Introduction to Greek and two semesters more (Plato and Xenophon) at CUA. However, I have forgotten a lot! So I have just started reviewing. I recently discovered Hans H. Ørberg's Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata materials and am going through them diligently. Am now up Chapter 6. It is by far the most pedagogically sound and interesting course I have ever come across for learning Latin. I'm also going through Crosby and Schaeffer again for Greek, because I know it and like it. Well, that's enough blabber for an introduction. Hope to meet some of you online!

Χαιρετε! Two years ago, I took four semesters of Greek in college using the grammar-translation method. Over the past several months, I read through the JACT Reading Greek text as a review for my rusty Greek and also completed Orberg’s Lingua Latina Pars I. I’m currently reading Book I of Plato’s Republic and going back through the Lingua Latina exercises to solidify my grasp of Latin grammar. After that, I plan to read more Plato (before starting on a play) and continue with Orberg’s Roma Aeterna. My eventual goal is to read Homer, the dramatists, Plato, the New Testament, Virgil, Ovid, the Vulgate, and medieval Latin without needing to constantly consult a lexicon, grammar, and commentary.

I’m interested in language pedagogy in general, and especially in applying modern language pedagogy to ancient languages. To that end, I’m trying to develop productive skills in Latin and Greek, not merely receptive skills, just as we do when learning modern languages.

A warm welcome to the new comers and an apology: I just clicked the wrong button (disapprove as opposed to approve) and, automatically, the "yes" afterwards and this way I actually deleted two posts that were valid. My sincere apologies for this! I know one of them was of our colorful new member but the other one I just can't remember. Since there's no way to retrieve it (or see who the other person was) I hope this public apology will reach you both and be enough Again, my apologies.

I'm Tom, returning to school after a long stint in Corporate America... Going for a MA/Ph.D. in medieval studies at Catholic University of America.

Currently cramming on the Moreland and Fleischer so I can hopefully test out of Latin I and II and go directly to a medieval Latin course. I can't think of many things I'd rather be doing than brushing up on my Latin, though, so it's pleasant and rewarding work.

Please bear with me as I ask for some feedback on my Moreland & Fleischer work!

Hello Everyone. I started with Clyde Pharr's Introduction to Homeric Greek a couple of years ago- with no language experience other than a few years of HS French. I've worked through 5-6 books of the Iliad, now finishing up Book 24. The Benner text makes a great follow up to Pharr. Worked great for me. What an experience! What gorgeous poetry! I highly recommend going straight to Homer for those who want to read him. It did really help to have a tutor to turn to with questions. Still I think it could be done on your completely on your own, just maybe kinda lonely work.

I had H and Q text on my bookshelf for TEN YEARS and never got to it, it looked so dry and stale.I opened the Pharr text book, saw how close I was to being presented with Homer, and I was hooked solid.

My real interest lies in Classical Arabic, which I have been self studying for about two years (approx. 800 hours) and aim to continue my studies till the postgraduate level. To apply for research I need to be a graduate and to this end have opted to begin a degree with the open uni and will study Latin and Greek (I do have a general interest in languages) in my first year.

My Arabic study has been heavily grammar focused; the tradition is choc bloc full of grammar treatises and commentaries at all levels; memorising didactic poems on syntax and morphology like the famous 1002 line Alfiyyah (Wright's Arabic grammar is based upon a commentary of this) for example, is routine for serious students.

Memorisation and study of this kind of verse in my experience has been higly useful: a lot of vocabulary is gained, a framework of all the main grammar is formed within the mind and the fact that the the verses have to fit a poetic meter render them usually quite grammatically complex and obscure but study repays the student with a sophisticated understanding of the syntax which makes even high level prose much easier to understand.

Is there such material available for Greek or Latin, for this is the approach I would favour?

Has anyone here studied Classical Arabic and Latin/greek and if so how do they compare?

If anyone is studying these languages and in Staffordshire where I am then perhaps mutually benefical correspondence could occur? Don't hesitate to get in touch.

I'm a student. I've been learning Spanish in school and am pretty adept with it, but decided to bail before AP Spanish instead of dropping a science/math course. My interests span math, theoretical computer science/coding (fluent in many programming languages including C(++), Java, Python, Scheme, and Haskell , if only real languages were as easy to learn and use), linguistics (I already know about tense-aspect-mood, ergative vs. accusative, declension, and other weird things; hopefully this will help with learning more inflected languages like Latin/Greek), literature, old and new, and the natural sciences in general, but chemistry and physics in particular.

I've always wanted to learn Latin and/or Greek. Mainly so I could read Homer or Virgil in the original languages. I was obsessed with ancient mythology as a kid, and loved reading the Odyssey last year. I would also like to continue Spanish through self-study. If I can finish that, I will continue with Japanese (for the challenge and because I like anime). After that maybe German or French. I suppose my problem is that I'm interested in too many things. Hopefully I can dive into language learning over the summer and find some way to continue throughout high school and college. I would love to speak as many languages as I can find time to learn.

Anyway, great site. Thanks for putting up so many good resources for free.

As usual, I did not read the the "Read before posting" topic until having posted . I hope the account deletion talk on that page is not valid information anymore, as I had no option but to post links to make my point clear. Anyways, I've studied both Classical Greek and Latin in the University - two courses of both to be exact. At the moment I've started translating the ΧΕΙΡΟΒΑΛΛΙΣΤΑΣ text by (Pseudo-)Heron, which is the primary reason for my registration here. To be honest, I could use some help with it from time to time. The translation, and all my future translation will be published under free and open Creative Commons licenses, meaning they can be used with very few limitations and improved upon. I will credit everyone who helps with the translation. Anyways, see this forum board for my Cheiroballistra - provided it (or my account) did not get deleted.

All the best,

Samuli

PS. As you seem to have reCAPTCA integrated to phpbb to prevent spam, account deletion seems like rather drastic measure.

To introduce myself I was born in Yorkshire, England but have lived in Ecuador for the last six years(hence the username).

I'm just completing a Ph.D. in International Development and am looking forward to studying the classics and ancient history as a leisure activity. I always envisaged that I would take an online university degree to achive this. However, whilst this would have been difficult on an Ecuadorean salary anyway, the UK government's recent decision to triple university fees effectively means that I have to pursue my goal through self-study.

I think this is a great site, free resources for Greek and Latin learners with the forum for chat and study support. At the moment I'm still really busy with my thesis, but I hope to soon throw myself into studying Greek and Latin with Textkit's help. If only an integrated classics/ancient history course were similarly available!

I just joined TextKit and it looks like a great site to help and learn from other Latinists and Greek enthusiasts! I studied Latin in high school for 4 years and majored in Classics. I took both Latin and Greek courses and I would like to continue reading in both languages and also help others. I am glad to be part of this community and I hope to contribute as much as I can!